Five Brooklyn Coffee Bean Shops

If you're a coffee lover and you're looking for a place to shop, then you'll need to visit a coffee bean shop. These shops offer a variety of whole beans from all over the world. They also have unique kitchenware and trinkets.

Some of these shops offer subscriptions to their coffee beans. Some shops sell them in bulk.

Porto Rico Importing Co.

Veteran coffee vendor who is a specialist in international brews, loose teas and a variety.

As you enter this old-school West Village shop, the aroma of freshly roasting beans fills the air. Open bags of dark-brown beans line the shelves, along with jars of sugar, coffee-making equipment as well as tea accessories.

Porto Rico, originally opened in 1907 by Italian immigrant Patsy Albonese. Greenwich Village at the time was experiencing an influx of Italian immigrants, who set up businesses in order to meet their food requirements. Albanese named her shop after the popular Puerto Rican coffee she imported (and sold) which was that was so well-known at the time that even the Pope took a sip.

Today, Porto Rico sells 130 varieties of beans from around the globe at three locations in New York City including their Bleecker Street location, Essex Market and online. Porto Rico roasts their own beans and provides wholesale distribution to 350 restaurants in NYC, Brooklyn and Brooklyn.

Peter Longo, the current president and owner of the business was raised above the bakery of his family located on Bleecker Street where his father operated Porto Rico. The business is still run by the shop in the same way to his father and grandfather.

Sey Coffee

Sey Coffee, a coffee roaster and shop is located along Grattan Street, in Morgantown. This Brooklyn neighborhood, in the Bushwick district, is located on Grattan Street. Tobin Polk, Lance Schnorenberg and their 33-year-old co-founders began roasting coffee in a loft on the fourth floor just across the street in the year 2011. The name was Lofted Coffee. Local clients included Greenpoint's Budin, and Soho cart services Peddler and Peddler.

Sey's preference for micro-lots or even whole harvests from single farmers has earned it the respect of the most discerning New York City coffee aficionados. Last year they made a six-bag micro-lot purchase of Danilo Dones Sitio Catucai 785 from Brazil's Espirito Santo region. The beans were handpicked at peak ripeness and floated to get rid of any imperfections and then dried fermented for about 36 hours before being dried on the farm. The result is a blend that is fragrant with hints of fruit and melon.

Sey's mission extends beyond the shop to improve the overall health of growers and staff, as well as customers. It utilizes biodegradable disposables as well as composts, preventing waste from garbage and converting it into agents that lower harmful greenhouse gas emissions and feed the soil. It also removes gratuities. This lets baristas concentrate on their craft and help sustain their livelihoods.

La Cabra

La Cabra is a modern specialty coffee company founded in Aarhus, Denmark in 2012. The company began with a small store and a dedicated team. Their open and creative approach to providing an exceptional coffee experience earned them a following, not just in their home town however, but across the globe.

La Carba follows a strict procedure to identify their ideal beans. They go through hundreds of beans each year to select the beans that best fit their ideals. They then roast them very lightly, dialing in their desired flavor profile. This results in an enhanced taste and clarity.

The East Village store opened last October, with a minimalist and sleek design. It's been praised by global 500g coffee beans lovers for its precise pour overs and baked goods supervised by head baker Jared Sexton, who's previously worked at Bien Cuit and Dominique Ansel.

The shop utilizes the La Marzocco Modbar and the cups, plates and bowls are designed by Wurtz ceramics, a father-and son studio located in Horsens. In a recent Q&A interview with Atlanta Coffee Shops, General Manager Ian Walla reveals that La Cabra serves approximately 250 different coffees per year, and usually has seven or eight coffees available at any given time.

The Roasting Plant Coffee

The Roasting Plant is the only multi-unit coffee retailer which roasts on-site and brews on demand, with every cup of coffee being roasted and brewed according to your requirements in less than one minute. It scour countries far and across the globe for the highest-quality, directly sourced specialty beans providing customers with choice and quality.

Their onsite roaster is a fluid bed device, that is distinct from the traditional drum machines commonly found in UK coffee shops. The beans are blown through an enclosed box that is heated and has high-speed air, which is circulated. This keeps the beans in suspension and ensures a consistent roasting rate.

I tried the Sumatran Coffee and it was smooth and rich with a velvety taste. Dark chocolate was evident from the aroma. As you sip the coffee you could taste subtle citrus fruit aromas.

The coffee that has been roasted will be transferred to the Eversys Super-Automatic Brewing Machines and brewed according your specifications in under a minute. Customers can select from nine single origin selections and a range of blends.

Parlor Coffee

In 2012, the company was established in the back of a barbershop with one espresso machine in a single group, Parlor Coffee has become a growing roastery, whose beans are sold at top cafes, restaurants and home brewers in the city. Parlor Coffee is committed to finding the finest quality beans, which have been through a lengthy journey before they reach its roasters.

The owners, who are self-described as "passionate about the craft and believe that good coffee should be accessible to all," have created a place that is a bit more grounded and filled with chalkboards. There are compost bins, up-cycled handmade products, and minimal decor.

They roast their own blends (there were six when I was there) and single-origins. But they also host cuppings on Sundays that are accessible to the public. Think of it like the tasting room of a brewery. You can smell and taste the ground beans, ranging from chocolaty to earthy (one was very tomato-like!). They're away from the tourist trail, but is worth a visit.